Culture Lesson

I'm sorry that it has been a while since my last post.  I was being honest when I said that I didn't have anything too exciting coming up.  These days, I spend a lot of time studying.  We're coming up on midterms pretty quickly and every one is feeling the crunch.  A lot of my friends have said the same thing.  For some of us, it feels like we are in a lull or have hit a wall.  Several people are ready to go home, despite the fact that they have enjoyed their time here immensely, while others are panicking that we only have a month and a half left in the semester.  I'm sort of in the middle.  I think about December 16th a lot...probably more than I should.  But I'm not really in a panic about leaving because I'll be back in Salamanca in the Spring.  I have enjoyed my time here so much and I feel so lucky and appreciative to be able to stay for the whole year.  Last night, I met up with three girl friends, Julia, Laura, and Hilke.  We went to a concert honoring the life and work of Federico García Lorca, a Spanish poet from the autonomous community of Andalucia.  It was a small orchestral ensemble comprised of seven or eight musicians.  Interspersed throughout the concert, selections of Lorca's poetry were read.  I have studied his poetry and plays in previous classes so the concert was very interesting to me.  We are also studying Lorca in my Spanish Literature class now.  As I said, my classes are keeping me busy.  I love the literature class.  I enjoy breaking down the poetry verse by verse and attempting to understand what the poet has written.  But reading the poetry or prose for the sheer beauty of the words is enjoyable as well, even if you don't understand what is being said.  I'm also taking Business Spanish.  We focus on vocabulary in that class and have already learned a lot about the economic situation in Spain.  I think it will be extremely useful in a professional setting.  My third class is focused on grammar.  It's not my favorite but it is definitely filling in the holes left by previous Spanish classes that I've taken at home.  By far, my favorite class is Phonetics.  Our professor, Carlos, always tells us that our classroom is not a classroom at all.  Rather, it is a gymnasium for words.  In that class, we practice intonation and pronunciation of Castellano, the form of Spanish spoken in Castilla y Leon.  Castellano is said to be the purest form of the Spanish language, but there are regional differences all throughout Spain.  In Barcelona, the people speak Catalan which is a combination of French and Spanish.  In cities such as Granada and Seville in Andalucia, Spaniards tend to cut off the ends of words, making it difficult to understand.  And in the autonomous community of País Vasco the language is Euskera, which I don't even know how to explain.  Spain is very regional.  You won't hear someone say, "Soy de España."  Instead, people identify with the autonomous community in which they live.  There are seventeen autonomous communities in Spain and each of them is unique.  A Spanish autonomous community is comparable to a state in the United States.  So, imagine that each of our fifty states spoke a different dialect and celebrated different holidays.  Obviously, there are various accents throughout the United States, but the official language is the same.  That is not necessarily the case in Spain.  Anyway, let's move on from the culture lesson.  Today it is very foggy and rainy so I'm not sure what I'll end up doing.  A lot of my friends are gone on trips this weekend so I might just stay in and get some studying done.  Two weeks from today, I will be with a with a bunch of friends on a day-trip to Zamora and Toro to tour local wineries.  I'm so excited!  We get to taste regional wine and have an authentic dinner in an old wine cellar.  The trip is organized for international students and has been very popular with AIFS students in the past.  Less than a week after that, I'll be in Morocco!  Whoa.  I just have to get through midterms first.  I hope everyone is doing well back home and has a spooky Halloween weekend.  Hasta pronto.                 

Lo esencial es invisible a los ojos...

It is a great feeling knowing that you belong somewhere.  It doesn't matter where you are in the world...feeling that you have friends to depend on, a place to come home to, and something to look forward to everyday is so comforting.  I love to walk through the streets of Salamanca and take in the ambiance.  The voices I hear, the scents I breathe in, and the beauty I see have become a part of me.  They permeate my soul.  I wish everyone could visit this place.  There is something special about it.  I've heard that studying abroad changes you.  I believe it.  How could you experience this culture and not be changed for the better?  Last week, a friend of mine asked me what has been the best part of my time in Spain.  I told Ben, "Honestly, living with my Spanish family has been the most rewarding part."  I meant it.  I love spending time with Angelita, Fabi, and Javier, just like I love to be with my family at home.  They know me so well already.  We've gotten to the point where we can tease and joke with each other.  Living in Spain is incredible.  But having a family like ours is icing on the cake.  This morning I met up with my friend Julia and two Spanish acquaintances for coffee.  I was so nervous to meet up for an intercambio.  For an hour or so, all four of us talked in Spanish.  Then we switched to English so that they could practice too.  It went so well!  It's a beautiful day here so I took my time walking home after our intercambio.  Sometimes I don't even realize it, but I can understand what is being said around me.  I can pick up bits and pieces of conversations that I hear as I pass by groups of people.  I'm learning without even thinking about it.  It is so empowering.  I cannot believe how much I've already learned here.  And I am not just referring to the language.  I've learned so much about the people here and the way they live their lives.  I've learned about what Spaniards think of Americans and the rest of the world.  I've learned more about myself and what I'm capable of.  Our Resident Director always tells us, "You are the one who looks different, speaks a different language, and eats different food.  You are the one who has to adjust.  Spain isn't going to change just for you."  The transformation is amazing.  As far as my daily life goes, nothing very exciting has happened this week.  I went to see a Spanish movie with some girl friends on Wednesday.  On Thursday, Cursos Internacionales offered a free movie for foreign students so I went to see it with Tristan and Amanda.  I study for an hour or so every day and I try to do a little bit of exercise as well.  I've been pretty good about going for a run every weekend that we're home.  Tonight I'm going out for drinks and dancing with a bunch of students from AIFS.  I'm really looking forward to it!  I'll write another blog post within a week or so.  Until then, muchos besos.

What is essential is invisible to the eyes...

  

                        

Madrid and...Holy Toledo!

This past weekend, AIFS took us on an overnight excursion to Toledo and Madrid in central Spain.  We left Saturday morning for Toledo, a city famous for El Greco, Don Quixote and Sancho Panza, and its three cultures:  Christian, Islamic, and Hebrew.  Toledo is home to eighty churches.  Yes, that is where the expression "Holy Toledo!" comes from.  We took a walking tour of this lovely city with a professional guide who lives in Toledo.  We visited La Iglesia de Santo Tomé, which houses the most well-known of El Greco's paintings, El Entierro del Conde de Orgaz.  It's one thing to study a painting in an art history class.  It is completely different to witness the unadulterated, pristine composition with your own eyes.  It was incredible. 

I wish we could have had more time in Toledo, but after a few short hours we hopped back on the bus.  We arrived in Madrid that afternoon and a few friends and I took the metro directly to the Centro de Arte Reina Sofia to see one of Picasso's most celebrated paintings, Guernica.  We spent a few hours wandering through the museum and then took the metro back to the hotel.  While walking from the station to our hotel, we decided to stop for a quick bite and ended up running into a group of friends.  We stayed at a sidewalk bar for a couple of hours, eating pizza and watching the FC Barcelona soccer game.  It was such a fun night; joking, laughing, and realizing that we are already half-way through the Fall semester.  On Sunday morning, bright and early, we checked out of our hotel and left for a tour of Madrid.  This city reminded me a lot of Chicago.  It is incredibly big, yet so beautiful.  We ended our tour at the Museo del Prado.  The Prado is one of the most visited museums in the world and houses such paintings as Las Meninas, La Maja Desnuda, and El Caballero de la Mano en el Pecho.  I cannot believe how lucky I have been to see all of the things I've seen since arriving in Spain.  Some people dream of seeing these paintings but never have the opportunity to examine them in person.  As enjoyable as the weekend was, I felt so relieved when I saw the beautifully illuminated Salamanca skyline last night...as always.  I can't imagine how I will feel when I land in Chicago in December.  Returning home always feels right, whether home is DeKalb, Illinois, Ventura, Iowa, or Salamanca, Castilla y León.   

Figuring it out...

Over the past couple of days, I've had a lot of time to think:  Time to consider why I am here, time to appreciate everything I have experienced, time to determine what is really important in life.  When I was preparing to come to Spain, I saw it as an opportunity to improve my verbal and written Spanish.  I realize now that it is so much more than that.  I'm here to understand a culture completely different from my own.  I'm here to figure out who I am as an individual.  I'm here to visualize everything I am capable of.  This all probably sounds so starry-eyed and innocent.  But being here has really made me consider everything I've done in my life up to this point and everything that I still want to accomplish.  I feel like I'm in a good state of mind.  I feel like I finally know what I want for myself in the future.  At the same time though, I'm not worrying about the future like I used to.  What's the point?  I'm learning to trust that life will continue on the way that it is meant to.  Whether you believe in fate, the master plan of one deity or another, coincidence...it doesn't really matter in the end.  Everything happens for a reason.  Happiness isn't something that you can search for.  If you look for it, you'll never find it all.  But if you live your life, you'll stumble upon happiness and you can embrace it fully.       

The horses are comin'...So you better run...

I spent the morning and early afternoon riding horses with eight of my friends.  It has been years since I've been on a horse, but it felt just the same.  I know my folks are going to get jealous as they read this.  Today is a national holiday in Spain.  We are celebrating the Virgen de Pilar, the patron saint of La Guardia Civil.  Since the Universidad de Salamanca was closed, we took advantage of our free day and headed out into the countryside.  At the ranch, we were given brief lessons on how to direct and control the horses.  We rode for about an hour and a half along the river and through the forests.  My horse and I were the first in line behind our guide, so for most of the ride I conversed with Jose about Spanish and American history and where I was from.  He said that Iowa was a very beautifully named state.  Our guide was so friendly and helpful.  He even complemented me on my riding!  My horse for the afternoon was a sweetheart, but a little mischievous as well.  The nine of us had so much fun and it was an experience I will never forget.  It has been a beautiful Autumn day and I'm so happy I've spent most of it in the Spanish terrain, enjoying the peace and quiet.     

Stunning Segovia...

Yesterday, I fell in love.  AIFS took us to the beautiful city of Segovia and it was like a fairytale unfolding in front of me.  Every corner we rounded was a turn of the page.  Segovia is enchanting.  The first thing you see as you enter the city is the soaring Roman aqueduct that has been standing for over two thousand years without a drop of mortar between its granite stones.  The aqueduct was used to bring water to the city from the mountains more than fifteen kilometers away. 

Upon arriving in Segovia, we were taken on a professional tour of the city.  We walked along the cobblestone streets, stopping every now and then to listen to the history of various monuments.  Our final destination was the Alcazar of Segovia.  Situated at the highest point of the city, the Alcazar acted as a fortress protecting Segovia.  The original palace was destroyed in the mid-nineteenth century and has been reconstructed since.  What we saw yesterday was the beautifully remastered estate that inspired the castle in Walt Disney's Sleeping Beauty.  

After visiting the Alcazar, we had some free time to roam through the streets of Segovia.  A few of us girls stopped into a cafe for a cup of coffee and just enjoyed the beautiful Autumn day.  Before heading home to Salamanca, we were taken a few kilometers outside of the city to Los Jardines de La Granja.  La Granja was a royal retreat set in the mountainside and is surrounded by charming gardens and alluring trails.  I could have spent the entire day in those gardens.  It was so calming to sit on the steps and take in the sheer beauty around me.  It was a wonderful Saturday.  My pictures from our day trip to Segovia are up on Facebook along with some new photos of Salamanca from this past week.  In other news, today Meredith and I will be getting some new roommates.  Two girls from England are coming to stay at Angelita and Fabi's home for about a week.  We're both excited to meet them.  Wednesday is a national holiday in Spain so almost everything will be closed, including the University of Salamanca.  Since we don't have classes, a few of us are hoping to go horseback riding in the countryside on Wednesday morning.  Then next weekend I will be in Toledo and Madrid.  There are so many things going on this month!  There is a theater in Salamanca that hosts ballet companies, concerts, and plays for the community at reasonable prices.  I really want to go to a concert showcasing orchestral music inspired by the poetry of Federico García Lorca at the end of October.  I'm trying to make the most of every day that I have here.  Time is moving so quickly.  I feel like it's because I have so many things to look forward to.  Whether it is something as simple as having ice cream with a friend or something as unbelievable as my trip to Morocco in November, I am always looking ahead.  Un abrazo.  I'll post again soon!            
     

Finally Fall!

I love Autumn.  I'm very jealous of the weather back home.  I want to eat a piece of banana bread, drink a pumpkin spice latte, and see the leaves change.  I want to meander through the corn maze at Jonamac Orchard, sip apple cider, and carve pumpkins.  I'm missing October in Illinois.  But today, Salamanca is perfect.  The crisp breeze, the slightly overcast sky, and the beauty of this place have appeased my need for Fall weather.  It is sublime.    

Food!

Last night I went out for tapas with some of my friends from AIFS.  Tapas are very small portions of food that you share with a group of people.  It is customary to buy one round of tapas at a bar and then move on to another bar for the next round.  Sharing tapas is a very social activity and an integral part of Spanish culture.  Salamanca is known for having some of the best tapas around.  Our program sponsors nights like this, along with cooking lessons, dancing lessons, and intercambios, to help us immerse into the Spanish culture.  Our Resident Director took us to two popular tapas bars and we got to pick out whatever we wanted.  It was delicious!  At the first bar, I tried a type of tortilla española that had bacon and blue cheese on it.  Tortilla española is similar to a quiche and is made with potatoes, onions, and eggs.  It is one of my favorites and Angelita said that she would teach me how to make it.  Then I'll be able to make it home and share it with all of you!  At the second bar, I had a tostada with olive loaf, fig jam, and fruit on it.  A tostada is the Spanish version of an Italian bruschetta.  Spaniards love to mix flavors, like fruit and meat.  I know that it sounds really strange.  But it is so good! 

As much fun as it was to go out for a meal last night, I don’t think I’ll do it very often because Angelita is such a good cook.  There hasn’t been a thing she has made that I haven’t enjoyed.  Yesterday while I was eating breakfast she was making almendras garapiñadas, which are candied almonds.  She also makes her own natural jams and sauces.  For breakfast I usually have two pieces of toast with some of this jam.  It’s so funny to me because at home I never put jam or jelly on toast.  I’ve tried so many different types of food here that I refuse to eat in the States…like bananas.  I love the bananas here.  But at home I never eat them.  I have mentioned before that dinner is a fairly small meal throughout Spain.  Every once in a while, Angelita makes us toast with melted cheese and honey for the last meal of the day.  She uses a cured Spanish cheese called “queso castellano” or “queso curado” and then pours natural honey on it.  It is heavenly.  I’m so glad that I came to Salamanca with an open mind about the food.  The gastronomy is as important as the history and customs when integrating into a new culture.  However, I already know what my first meal will be when I get home in December:  Grandma Erma's recipe for stove-top mac 'n' cheese and a bowl of Cinnamon Toast Crunch for dessert.  Yum!

En las calles de Salamanca…

I’m happy to say that the past few days have given me some relief from the stress and worry that I was experiencing earlier in the week.  I’ve been keeping busy with classes and spending a lot of time with my friends here.  On Tuesdays, I have class at 1:00 in the afternoon for two hours.  I love that walk to class and back home for lunch.  The streets of Salamanca are almost always congested with people who are out shopping or strolling with their families.  On my way to that class, Business Spanish, I weave in and out of groups of students in the Plaza Mayor.  I smell the bread and pastries baking in the numerous panaderías along the facade.  I hear beautiful noise.  Everyday around this time, a man stands on Calle Toro and plays his saxophone so soulfully.  That’s a tongue twister…saxophone so soulfully, saxophone so soulfully, saxophone so soulfully.  Try saying that three times fast!  Anyway, as I’ve said before, Salamanca is new every day.  Each day, each hour, each minute is different.  I suppose that’s true anywhere.  I think that sometimes it takes a change of scenery for us to realize how dynamic life is.  It is constantly changing.  It’s resplendent.  On my walk home from Business Spanish on Tuesdays, or Thursdays for that matter, the streets are deserted.  Everyone has returned home or is at a side street café for la comida.  I’m usually starving when I get home because it’s about a fifteen minute walk from my class and we normally eat at 2:30.  By the time I get to our apartment, Angelita, Meredith, and Fabi have usually finished eating.  So I eat with Begoña, their daughter, who comes to pick up her children.  The boys, Fernando and Antonio, go to school right across the street from our apartment and come over every day for lunch.  I love having the entire family around.  It gives Meredith and me a chance to practice our Spanish even more.  The grandkids get a little rambunctious but they are so much fun.  We love our Spanish family.  On Wednesday, I went to see a movie with some of my classmates.  Yami, Tristan, Amanda, Robin, and I saw “La Cara Oculta,” a psychological thriller, and I had popcorn for the first time since leaving home.  I love popcorn!  My folks and I munch on popcorn all of the time at home.  Sometimes it replaces dinner!  My friends and I had so much fun walking through the streets that night, talking about our classes, and seeing a truly great movie.  During the afternoon on Friday, I got together with my friends Julia and Laura for café con leche in the Plaza.  Inevitably, when meeting a friend in the Plaza, you end up finding four or five others.  The Plaza Mayor is the center of the city and life in Salamanca revolves around it.  Late on Friday night, I met up with two other friends for drinks at a bar near my apartment.  Rachel and Andrea actually live in the same building as me and Meredith.  I got to know some students from another study abroad program, ISA, and it turns out that a few of them are in my classes.  It was so nice to meet new people and the sangria was so refreshing.  It has been unseasonable warm in Salamanca.  We’re all hoping for it to cool off a little bit this upcoming week.  Last night, I went out chocolate fondue and churros with a big group of friends at the best place in town, Valor.  I also got some ice cream for the walk home.  Talk about a sugar high!  It was perfectly decadent and absolutely worth the calories. 

I love that we can get a diverse group of people together and enjoy each other’s company so much.  We all have such different backgrounds.  In our AIFS Salamanca group, there are students between the ages of eighteen and twenty-eight.  There are people from Hawaii, California, Alaska, Colorado, Texas, Minnesota, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, New York, and probably a couple of other states that I’m forgetting.  But here we have all experienced the same anxiety, the same stress.  It’s comforting to have all of these people around me when I’m so far away from home.  Angelita and Fabi just got home from a long walk.  I don’t have much on my agenda for today.  I’m meeting up with the girls that are going with me to Prague in a couple of months.  And I think that I might go for a short run later in the afternoon.  This has been a very long blog post!  I sincerely hope that everyone is doing well back home, whether your home is in Illinois, Iowa, Texas, or anywhere else.  Hasta luego.